Something that has been of interest for me for a while, is the nature of the Triglavian conduit portal thingies, and their use in travelling between real and abyssal space. Specifically, if it is possible to determine if such conduits have been used somewhere in historical times, say, 1500-2000 years before now.
Are there any exotic particles for example, that are long-lived enough to be detected after that amount of time ?
Do these conduits ever occur naturally, or do they always require the use of some weird technology ?
The reason I am asking, is to try and answer a question about if it was possible that the Takmahl were able to create portals to abyssal realms, and made contact with someone or something there, not necessarily the Triglavians, during the time the Takmahl were active, some 1500-2000 years ago.
I’d look for isogen crystals, Dr. Valate. The stuff only seems to crystalize under Abyssal conditions but once it does it’s so strong you can build singularity reactor housings out of it, and it’s common enough that it seems to get carried along pretty often when Abyssal matter gets disgorged through conduits and such. (Speculating, it’s likely available only from the Collective because we haven’t figured out how to mine it yet, not because it’s not around.)
The main worry in finding it if it was ever here would be if it’s not actually as stable in K-space as it seems and might, like, slowly evaporate over a century or six.
You can probably pick up samples if you’re willing to do even a Tranquil filament dive (I know for sure it appears in Dark; I forget which others). It’s also available on the open market-- not cheap, since it’s of course an exotic material (and Leshaks for example incorporate a LOT of it) but just a sample won’t set you back much.
To me it seems unlikely that the Takmahl would have known about Abyssal space (let alone have been able to reach it) in the early stages of their empire, when they settled in Araz. I see no evidence that there were naturally occurring conduits, and to my mind the filaments are incompatible with subwarp cryoships.
Equally, I doubt that they reached Abyssal space in the golden age of their empire. Access to this space would have led to technological advancements and a “second spurt” in the growth of the Takmahl. There is to the best of my knowledge no trace of such second spurt.
This leaves us with the late Takmahl empire. I am curious if your provocative suggestion is linked to a theory that you have suggested before, at the fourth SeyCon conference? You hypothesized that the mystery of the rapid collapse of their civilization may be due to an encounter with a more advanced civilization. Accessing abyssal space (or wormhole space) and looting it may have provoked retribution from its denizens. Is this the avenue of investigation that you think is worthwhile to pursue?
I confirm finding many Takmahl relics in wormhole space. I have not ventured in Abyssal space, so I cannot say if there are traces of Takmahl incursions there. Ms. Jenneth, as you have extensive experience in Abyssal space, maybe you can shed some light on this matter?
The nature of the Labyrinth that the Takmahl operated in Aphi, is still somewhat of an enigma. The spatial rift technology that it uses is unlike any other artifact that is known to definitely be of Takmahl manufacture, and while it has some similarities to artifacts from other cultures, there is no conclusive evidence linking the Labyrinth with those cultures.
The Sleeper data caches in wormhole space, containing Takmahl relics, I know about, yes. Somewhat of a mystery, those. It is unclear if the Takmahl artifacts that the Sleepers obtained, were obtained while the Takmahl were active, or after they had already ceased to be a stellar power.
While my own theory on the collapse of the Takmahl Empire has a fair amount of evidence to support it, it is still just one theory.
I did not find any evidence of encounters with Sleepers or other wormhole space cultures, but of course absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, as the proverb goes.
I am interested in finding out if there is any evidence of abyssal contact with anything in the Labyrinth, as that would raise further questions, and open up new avenues of investigation.
It’s like… previously, I’ve found rocks, that did not appear interesting at the time. But now that I know of abyssal space, then re-examining those rocks may prove worthwhile, as now I would know what I was looking at, what to look for, and so on.
And, it would also clear up a few things in the Takmahl artifacts that I have found. For example, I’ve previously found that on some Takmahl worlds, the overlords used cyborg constructs shaped like demons, to enforce their will on an uneducated and ignorant populace, that would believe those demons to be the real thing. So, in written records that I have found, there are occasional mentions of sinners being “cast into the abyss”, and I am curious as to whether there is anything other than a linguistic connection.